The present invention disclosed herein relates to lithium batteries, and more particularly, to methods of preparing an oxide-based solid electrolyte by a hydrothermal reaction.
Interests in lithium batteries have significantly grown as the importance of energy storage and conversion techniques has increased. Lithium batteries may include an anode, a separator, a cathode, and an electrolyte. The electrolyte acts as a medium in which ions may move between the cathode and the anode. Since energy densities of the lithium batteries may be relatively higher than those of other types of batteries and miniaturization and weight reduction of the lithium batteries may be possible, research and development of lithium batteries as power sources of portable electronic devices have been actively conducted. Recently, in line with the improvement of the performance of the portable electronic devices, power consumed in the portable electronic devices has increased. Lithium batteries are required to generate high power. As a result, a lithium battery electrolyte is required to have high ionic conductivity and low electrical conductivity.
The lithium battery electrolyte may include an organic-based liquid electrolyte and an inorganic-based solid electrolyte. The organic-based liquid electrolyte has a lithium salt dissolved therein and is widely used due to high ionic conductivity and stable electrochemical properties. However, a number of issues related to the safety of the organic-based liquid electrolyte have been raised due to its flammability, volatility, and leakage problem. Lithium batteries including the inorganic-based solid electrolyte may have freedom of cell design. Also, the inorganic-based solid electrolyte may have excellent stability because fire and explosion due to a decomposition reaction of an electrolyte solution are prevented.